Research Into Chosen Music Genres - Miss Georgiou.

Within my group we have decided to use the song Turn Back Time by Sub Focus which belongs to the dance genre. The reason I have chosen to use this genre is because that I believe that it is easily adaptable and therefore can be used as either narrative, concept or performance based videos. This means that when creating my video I can use numerous different images and styles which would all be conventional and appealing. Artists similar to Sub Focus are Chase and Status and Rudimental, both these artists inspired me to create a video within this genre and i have taken specific inspiration from the videos 'Hitz' by Chase and Status and 'Baby' by Rudimental featuring MNEK & Sinead Harnett.

                                    

The first video which i have chosen to analyse is 'Hitz' by Chase and Status, a video belonging to the dance genre and targeting the audience of 15-25 year olds of both genders. Much like many of Chase and Status' music videos it is narrative based which is unconventional to the dance genre as the majority of videos are predominantly performance based and follow a club atmosphere. Despite the fact that the video is narrative based and therefore unconventional the storyline which it follows is somewhat conventional as it follows a young boy who produces music and sells it and promotes a club night with the finale of the video being a stereotypical dance genre club scene. This video also has a large performance based element as Tinie Tempah, who features on the track, can frequently be seen rapping in the studio and within the conventional club scene.

The miss-en-scene within this video frequently changes and flickers between conventional codes and conventions of the dance genre and the diverse and unique narrative. This contest is evident throughout as the video regularly changes between the narrative and the performance based element. The miss-en-scene used for the narrative is unconventional to the dance genre as each of the 5 mise-en-scene elements (costume, hair and make up, facial expressions and body language, lighting and colour and positioning of characters) all go against the dance music genre stereotypes and characteristics. The costume, hair and make up used is unconventional to the genre as it is a working class child who is seen wearing tatty clothing and no glamorous make-up or costume. This is unconventional to the dance genre because although dance artists don't wear as glamourous clothing as other genres they do still present themselves in a rather smart manner. His facial expressions and body language are also unconventional as he is a child therefore he acts in a childish way, such as riding a bike, which is very rarely seen within the dance genre. On the other hand this use of mis-en-scene within the narrative element contradicts that used within the performance based element. For example the costume, hair and make up is rather conventional as the artists can be seen wearing more mature clothing which presents them as much more professional. The facial expressions and body language also are contradicting as they are older characters and therefore act in a more stereotypical and normal way to the dance genre.

Within Chase and Status' dance video for 'Hitz' there is two main camera shots used throughout which are completely different and used for completely different effects. The first camera shot which is frequently used is a establishing shot. A establishing shot is used throughout the video to make it evident of the setting of a run down, urban, city. This particular shot is used as it shows the sky scrapers and more of the surrounding urban area with the aim of showing as much of the setting as possible. It is used throughout as the artist is trying to make it clearly obvious of this particular setting which gives the audience some more knowledge of the narrative as they know where the focal character lives which gives them more knowledge about him and makes them aware that he is rather poor and from the working class. This type of camera shot is unconventional to the dance genre as they very rarely have a narrative therefore there is no need for the setting to be established so vividly and can instead use other shots which focus more on the performers and create a more lively atmosphere within the video, which the genre is renowned for.

Contrastingly another camera shot which is frequently used within 'Hitz' is a close up. The main use of a close up within this particular video relates to 'Goodwins Theory' as there are many close ups of the performers this is to ensure that the target audience are aware of who the artists are and make it evident that they are the ones performing. This particular shot can be seen consistently of Tinie Tempah in the studio and also numerous close ups are used of the two DJ's within Chase and Status just to remind their target audience, who usually watch their videos for them, that they are the artist, even know Tinie Tempah plays a hueg role within the video and the song. Unlike the establishing shot the close up is conventional to the dance genre as close ups are frequently used to show the DJ's as the audience may not recognise them as much as normal performers and therefore the audience need to be aware of the artist.

Despite this being the main use of this specific camera shot it is also used as the very last shot within the video to show the focal character of the narrative. They use this same shot as it shows the emotion of his face which summarises the narrative as it shows how he is feeling at the end of the video and thus brings closure to the audience. This use of the close up shot is unconventional the dance genre as it is stereotypically used the show the artist but instead is now used to show a characters depressed emotions which is extremely unconventional as the dance genre is usually associated with happiness.

Another micro element which is rather unconventional to the dance genre is lighting. The lighting used within the majority of this video is very bright natural sunlight. This is a unconventional use of lighting because usually within the dance genre the lighting is rather artificial as it is very dark with injections of bright flashing lights to replicate either a club setting or festival. This contrasts the lighting which is used within this video as it is consistently naturally bright sunlight, this is used because it makes the narrative seem more believable and relatable as it looks more realistic which helps form the bond between the characters and the audience as they believe the narrative and therefore sympathise with him more. Despite this at the end of the video contrasting conventional lighting is then used; this is because the narrative has now developed and they are seen within a conventional club setting, this means that they now need to use dark lighting with bright colours quickly interjected. The use of this contrasting lighting means that the audience can now feel the stereotypical dance emotions of excitement and adrenaline as it makes the pace much quicker. It also means that they are now able to easily relate to the setting as the majority of the dance target audience have experienced this setting and will therefore form a further bond with the character as they know what he is feeling within that particular setting.

The second video i have chosen to analyse, which also belongs to the dance genre, is 'Baby' by Rudimental featuring MNEK & Sinead Harnett. Unlike most other Rudimental videos 'Baby' is much more conventional is solely performance based rather than the usual mix of concept and narrative within other Rudimental videos. The fact that this video is performance based is evident throughout as the two artists which feature on the track, MNEK and Sinead Harnett, can both be singing throughout the entire duration of the video. Performance based videos are the main style of video within the dance genre as the target audience will see the artists dancing and singing and are more likely to replicate and copy them. Rudimental also appeals to a slightly younger target audience, than Chase and Status, of 12-25 year olds, this younger target audience makes a performance style video more appropriate as they don't have to figure out any particular complicated concept or follow any dramatic narrative, instead they can just watch the artists perform the song and therefore enjoy it more.

The mise-en-scene within this video is extremely basic and consistent. The setting and props are the same throughout and very simple, the only prop used within the video is big silver balloons spelling the song title 'Baby'. The setting is also very plain and simple and is just a empty room, the effect of this plain and simple props and setting is that it emphasises the performance style and element as the audience are 100% focused on the artists performing and the song they are listening too. This also links to a particular element of 'Goodwins Theory' as the fact that they are only focussed on the artist means that the artist is fully promoted as the performer of the song and gives them all the credit for the song. But, unconventionally, the people who feature within the video are not the artist of the song they just feature in the track, this is extremely unconventional to both 'Goodwins Theory' an the dance genre as it means that the audience may not be aware of the artist of the song and instead may be mislead into believing that they are the artist of the song. The costume, hair and make-up which the two characters are seen wearing within the video is also very basic as both of the artists are wearing black jumpers and some funky black and white trousers. Both their outfits fit the main theme of the video which is black and white and further the focus the song and the artists as the audience are not looking at their costumes.


Another unconventional element within this video is the lighting and colour of the video. The video is present as black and white throughout which is extremely unconventional to the dance genre as  it stereotypically features flashing bold lighting. The black and white colour tint throughout also contradicts the main, conventional aim which is to express and portray happiness and make the audience this way as the black and white colour connotes depression and sadness. Unlike the previous three mise-en-scene elements mentioned the facial expressions and body language featured within the video are conventional to the dance genre as the two characters appear happy and are dancing throughout the video which is a convention of the dance genre as it aims to make the audience joyful and happy and therefore the artists seen dancing and smiling will express this image and the audience are likely to copy them. The final element of mise-en-scene is positioning of characters within the frame, despite breaching most other conventions of mise-en-scene 'Baby' does follow the codes and conventions of the dance genre from this specific element as the two artists remain dead centre throughout the entirety of the video. This is another element used to emphasise that artists who are performing the song and keep them and the song itself the focus rather than a stereotypical massive dance video.



Much like the rest of the video the cinematography for 'Baby' by Rudimental is very basic and plain, this makes it unconventional to the dance genre which usually has a variety of different complex shots which have numerous different effects on the audience. But contrastingly this video primarily uses just a simple mid-shot. This is because they do not need to capture any of the background as it is plain and they don't need to see the whole body of the artist as their costumes are plain and their actions can be seen from the waste up. The effect of this is one which has evidently tried to be achieved throughout the video which is to deter attention away from the video itself and instead focus more on the artists and the song. To do this they have kept everything basic including the cinematography which is only mid-shots and close-ups.


All the video as a whole is rather unconventional as it is very very basic unlike conventional complex dance genre videos the editing used within this video is rather conventional to the dance genre. This video uses fast paced editing with numerous jump cuts which cuts to a variety of different shots, this is conventional as usually within a conventional dance genre video they cut between numerous different images of the stereotypically club setting. Numerous jump cuts quickens the pace of the video making sure that it matches that of the song. This creates excitement and gets the hearts racing of the audience as they are seeing numerous different images in quick succession and they have to digest it all, this is what the dance genre aims to do as it wants to get the audience dancing and using fast editing prompts them to do this. Using this form of editing also means that they are able to show more different shots which means that they are able to create more effects and evoke more emotions through the use of cinematography and the five miss-en-scene elements.

To conclude this research into our chosen music genre if dance has given us a vast amount of knowledge on what the codes and conventions for a music video within this genre. Given this new knowledge we now know whether we want to go against these conventions to create a diverse video, or to conform with these conventions to create a conventional video. This research has also taught us how to achieve both these types of video and what specific micro-elements we need to manipulate to successfully create this type of video. The research into these two specific videos by Rudimental and Chase and Status has also taught us how to create either a narrative or performance style video which appeals to a target audience similar to ours.